Machine foe providing knitting machine needles with latches



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J. J. JENKINS. MACHINE FOR, PROVIDING KNITTINGMAGHINE NEEDLES WITH LATGHES.

No. 432,802. Patented July 22, 1890-.

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J. J. JENKINS. MACHINE FOR PROVIDING KNITTING MACHINE NEEDLES WITH LATGHES.

Patented July 22, 1890,

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WLIII E %W w- Q 5 drill. pawl-carrier A and pull down the pawl A UNITED STATES PATENT EErcE.

' JOHN J. JENKINS, F MANCHESTER, NEYV HAMPSHIRE, ASSIGNOR TO WILLIAM COREY, OF SAME PLACE.

MACHINE FOR PROVIDING KNITTINGMACHINE NEEDLES WITH LATCHES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 432,802, dated July 22, 1890.

Application filed September 14, 1889. Serial No. 323,907. I (No model.)

To all whom it may-concern: Other features of my invention will be here Be it known that 1, JOHN J. JENKINS, of inafter described, and specified in the claims. Manchester, county of Hillsborough, State of Figure 1. is a top or plan View of a machine New Hampshire, have invented an Improvei embodying my invention; Fig. 2, a front ele- 55 ment in Machines for Providing Knitting-Mavation thereof; Fig. 3, a partial section in the chine Needles with Latches, of which the folline a", Fig. 1; Fig. i, a section in the line 4n; lowing description, in connection with the ac- Fig. 5, a section in the line 00 Fig. 6, a view companying drawings, is a specification, like to the right of the dotted line a Fig. 5; Fig. letters on the drawings representing like 7, a section in the line 00, Fig. 5; Fig. 8,arear 6o 10 parts. end view of the carriage holding the clamp; Prior to my invention it has always been Fig. 9, a section of Fig. 1 in the dotted line customary to drill a hole in the needle for the 00 Fig. 10, details showing the lever for actureception of the rivet, and thereafter theneeating the drill-spindle; Fig. 11, a section in dle is given to an operator, who places the the line cc", Fig. 2; Fig. 12, a top or plan view o r 5 latch in the slot of the needle and by pliers of the cutter-carrying lever; Fig. 13, asection inserts a rivet through the hole drilled in the in the line a, Fig. 9. Fig. 14 shows the cam needle, the said rivet also passing through for moving the carriage. Fig. 15 is an inner the hole in the latch. This is a slow and la side view of the main operating-cam of the borious process; and the object of my present machine. Fig. 1G is an enlarged detail of 2o invention is-chieiiy to insert the rivet autopart of the jaw O and its connected gages, 1natieally,-the said rivet, in the form in which with a needle in position on the jaw, and my invention is herein embodied, forming, Fig. 17 shows the jaws m and n and cutterwhen being inserted, part of a wire, the end carrier 7- detached. of the wire when properly inserted being cut The frame-work A, of suitable shape to sup- 25 off, leaving the rivet in place. My machine port the working parts, has suitable bearings is also provided with a spindle and drill to for the main shaft A, provided, as shown, automatically drill the hole in the needle, with a loose pulley A the hub of which has this being done while the needle is held a series of ratchet-teeth,which,when the shaft clamped in a carriage, means being provided is to be rotated, engage like ratchet-teeth of So 30 to move the said carriage after the needle a hub Aisplined on the said shaft. The said has been drilled to place the drilled needlein hub A has a wedge or cam-like projection position to have the end of the wire referred A, which once during each rotation of the to passed into the hole in the needle previshaft A enters a notch in a latch-lever A, ously made by the drill. Prior to drilling the pivoted at A", the said projection traveling 5 hole, in the needle, and after the needle has in contact with the said latch, serving to move been placed in the carriage the operator the hub A longitudinally on the main shaft places the punched latch in the slot of the far enough to release the loose pulleyand let needle, a suitable gage being added to the it run, leaving the shaft A at rest, and with machine to aid him in correctly placing the the carriage, to be described, in position to 4o latch in such position that the wire will pass enable a needle to be inserted in the then through the hole in the latch. open clamp, to be described. The machine The machine has been provided with a gage in Figs. 1 and 2 is shown in this position. for the small end of the needle, so as to prop- To start the machine, the operator with his erly locate the needle with relation to the foot on a suitable treadle will depress the 5 My invention in a machine for drilling knitand cause it to turn the lever A and release the ting-machine needles consists, essentially, in hub A so that the pin A, (see Fig. 9,) acted mechanism to clamp and hold the needle to upon by the spring A will move the said be drilled, combined with a spindle and drill hub in the direction to cause its ratchet-teeth I00 50 to drill a hole in the needle, substantially as to engage the teeth of the rotating pulley A will be described. and start the machine. The pawl A has one ,to keep the pawl pressed toward the latch,

while the latter is acted upon by a strong spring A to thus keep the hooked end of the latch in the position shown .in Fig. 2. The pawl-carrier is normally elevated by a spring A connected to the pins A A. (See Fig. 11.)

The machine has two uprights or flangesB B extended across the bed. These flanges receive between them a carriage B composed chiefly of side and end pieces, the said carriage having at one side a projection B, to which, as shown, is attached a block 13", the same being adj ustably held in place by a clamp-screw B,inserted through a slot in the block,the block being acted upon by the cam B on the shaft A, the shape of the said cam (shown separately in Fig. 14) being such as to move the said carriage forward at the proper time, a spring B attached to a stud B of the carriage B and to a stud B of the frame, normally acting to return the carriage to its startingpoint. This carriage 13 re ceives within it a bed-block a,having upturned ears. (See Figs. 5 and 16.)

The bed-block at that end next the front of the machine (see Figs. 5 and 6) has apivot-pin or fulcrum a extended from itinto holes in the carriage B so that the opposite end of the bed-block, acted upon by a wedge-like adj usting-screw a may be raised or lowered, ac-

cording to the width of the needle which is to be drilled.

The cars referred to receive horizontal screws c which serve as pivots for the clamp O, the said clamp being movable on the said pivot-screws, the clamp co-operating with the inner side of the wall 13 0f the carriage next the upright 13'. The carriage B is retained down in position between the uprights B B by the caps a a held in place by suitable screws. The clamp has a jaw 12 adjustably connected to it at its top by screws 1) 1), extended through slots therein, so that the said jaw may be adjusted to occupy a position (see Fig. 6) more or less back of the clamp, thusleaving a space between the edge of the jaw and the ,inner face of one of the side walls of the carriage for the reception of the body of the needle 01 (see Fig. 16) which is to be drilled, and provided with a latch 91', the back of the needle resting on the top of the clamp O, the front of the needle, or thatend thereof farthest from the butt, being pushed against a gage 19 (shown as adj ustably attached by a set-screw b to the upper side of the clamp 0,) a latchgage 1) (shown as a spring) being also connected to the clamp by a screw Z1 to, by its end, serve as a gage forthelatch 71, (shown j in Fig. 16 as inserted into the slot of the needle,) one wall of the needle at its slotted partbeing shown as broken out in said figure to show the usual hole in the latch.

The clamp C is provided at its top with a cross-groove, in which is placed the needleejector c, which, when the clamp is turned to the left from the position shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 7, strikes against one of the walls of the carriage, and is thereby moved longitudinally to push the needle off the edge of the clamp,

the jaw at such time being opened or turned bar cl let into a block D, secured to the frame I by a screw D, (see Fig. 13,) the said slidebar being acted upon at the proper time by a cam projection d (see Fig. 9) on the cam wheel or hub D fast on'the shaft A, a spring (1 suitably brazed or otherwise connected to the back of the clamp G and with its free end acting against the carriage B serving normally to press the clamp toward the right in Fig. 1.

To cause the needle to be held firmly by the clamp when the needle is being drilled, as will be described, I have provided the inner side of one of the walls of the carriage (see Figs. 3 and G) with a dovetailed groove, in which I have mounted a clamp-' locking device (1*, the upper end of which is thickened in suitable manner or provided with a slightly-tapering projection, herein shown as attached byascrew, the said clamplocking device being herein represented as descending behind the closed clamp by gravity and standing there while the needle is being drilled and while the rivet is being put in, when the said locking device is raised by a suitable cam 61 on the shaft A, the said locking device when down, as stated, between the clamp and carriage, as in Fig. 0, prevent,

mally retracted by a suitable spring d, at-

tached at its lower end (see Fig.7) to the clamp and having its upper end extended into the said ejector. The adjusting-screw a has a check-nut One side of the carriage (see Fig.4) is provided with two drill-holes at, bored close together, so that one breaks into the other. One of the said drill-holes is. filled with oil and the other with a wick or other absorbent 5, (shown in heavy black,) which acts to oil the drill e as the same is moved forward to drill the rivet-hole in the needle. This drill is and may be held between usual jaws at the end of a rotating spindle c, mounted in a block 6 herein shown as having journals, one of which is inserted in an ear (2 while the other (see Fig. 2 is inserted in a hole in the upright B. The spindle 6' has fast on it a pulley 6 which may be driven by a belt from any suitable source of motion, the said spindle, surrounded by a spring 6, which normally acts to retract the spindle or move it longitudinally away from the carriage, having a collar 6, which is acted upon by one end of the spindle-sliding lever 6 (see Fig. 1,) pivoted at e on the block D, the said lever having a cam projection 6 adapted to be acted upon by the cam projection e on the cam D the shape of the said cam projection being such as to gradually, move the spindle in the direction of its length and cause the rotating drill to pass through both side walls of the needle opposite the slot therein, in which is placed the latch,as stated, and as shown in Fig. 1G. The block e is provided, as shown, with a locking device, (represented as a lever e which, when in the position shown in Figs. 1 and 6, locks the block firmly in position; but by turning the said lever aside on its pivot the said block e may be tipped up about its pivots, as when it is desired to change or adjust the drill. The needle havin g been drilled and the drill retracted by the spring c, the carriage B is moved forward by the cam B until the hole drilled in the needle arrives in position opposite the wire-feedin g jaws, now to be described.

The wire-feeding jaws m n are connected bya pivot-pin 6 inserted through the jaw m and through ears 7, forming part of the jaw 02, the jaw n being adapted to slide in a suitable groove in the block D, referred to, (see Fig. 13,) only the jaw 'm turning to clamp or release the wire w, which is partially shown in Figs. 1 and 9 by a heavy black line, the said wire being taken from any usual reel or holder. The wire is led along in a groove in the jaw 01, and thence through the hole 8 in the pivot 6 and between the front ends of the jaws, the diameter of the wire being just that required for the rivet and just of a size to fully fill the hole drilled in the needle, the said hole being brought into position just in front of the jaws m n and in the line of the wire and the direction of movement of the jaws, so that when the jaws are clamped upon the wire 10 (a portion of the said wire projecting beyond the ends of the jaws next the carriage) the said jaws will, when moved forward by the projection 19 on the cam D cause the end of the said wire to be inserted into the hole made by the drill c, the said wire in its passage through the needle also passing through the hole in the latch. The jaw m has at its outer end an adjustable stud m, which is acted upon by the peripheral projection m of the cam D to thus close the said jaw upon the wire when the latter is to be moved forward and inserted into the needle for the formation of a rivet. By adjusting the stud m the jaws may be adapted to wire of different gage. The pivot-pin 6 referred to also has pivoted upon it an ear of the cutter-carrying lever 1'. (Shown in Figs. 9 and 13, and separately in Fig. 12.) This cuttercarrying lever has at its front end a blade 10, which at the proper time is thrown up between the short end of the jaw n and the side of the needle which is directly exposed about the rivet, for the side wall of the carriage next the upright B is cut away opposite and about that part of the needle into which the drill is made to enter, the said blade co-operating with the end of the wire therein to constitute a rivet. In this way the handling of separate rivets is entirely avoided, and the rivets may be formed in the needles very rapidly. The wire to (partially shown in Fig. 9) on its way into the groove in the jaw a is passed under a friction device 12, shown as a.

spring attached by a screw 13 to a bar 14 let into a groove in the block D, the said' bar being held in place by the screws 15 in the cap:

16, said cap and the cap 17 both held by screws upon the top of the block D, keeping the sliding jaws down in the groove referred to in the said block. The jaw member a has a pin 18, (shown in Fig. 1 by breaking away the cap 16 and theblock D,) the said pin having connected to it one end of a spiral spring 19, the other end of which is attached to a suitable pin 20 inserted in the block D, the said spring normally acting to draw the wire holding and feeding jaws backward or away from the carriage, the extent of such backward movement being regulated by the stop 22, adjustably connected by the screw 23 to the block D. As the said jaws are retracted by the said spring they are opened, for at such time the projection m is away from under the stud 'm, and as the wire is held frictionally by the spring 12 the jaws are moved back along over the said wire, the ends of the jaws being drawn back of the end of the wire more or less, according to the position of the said stop 22, the jaws being thereafter clamped upon the wire when the latter is again to be carried forward to have its end inserted into the needle. While the jaws are being moved back ward or retracted over the wire, as stated, the slide-bar d, before referred to, is pushed forward to turn the clamp C in the direct-ion to release the body of the needle and permit the ejector to discharge the same, and the carriage is moved back to its starting-point. The cutter-carrier is moved at the proper time to cause the blade 10 to act and cut the wire by the projection 24 of the cam D the spring 27, connected to the said carrier, (see Fig. 9,) normally acting to keep its end against the cam 24. The screw 26 acts as a stop for the carriage B in its backward movement.

Believing myself to be the first to make a machine by which to drill rivet-holes in the needle and then to feed the needle into position to have a rivet inserted in the said drilled hole to hold the latch, and also believing myself to be the first to insert the end of a rivet or a wire automatically into the needle to hold the latch, I do not desire to limit my invention to the exact form of the Clilll-Spllb dle or to the exact form of the jaws for inserting the wire, or to the exact form of the cutting mechanism by which to cut off the wire, or to the exact-form of clamp to hold IIO the needle, or to the means employed by which to actuate the said parts, as instead I may use any other equivalent or well-known form of mechanical devices.

I claim- 1. In a machine for providing knitting-machine needleswith latches, the following instrumentalities, viz: a clamp having a movable jaw and adapted to support and grasp and hold at its sides the needle to be drilled, leaving the slot in the needle exposed and open for the reception of the latch, and a spindle having a drill to drill a hole in the needle and at the same time to pass thrbugh a hole in the latch of the needle, substantially as described. I

2. The spindle anddrill, a cam to move the spindle and drill longitudinally to drill a hole in the needle, and devices, substantially as described, to support the back of the needle and clamp it at its sides, combined with a gage to determine the position of the latch between the side walls of the needle preparatory to drilling the said walls, substantially as described. I

3. The drill-carrying spindle, the drill, and means, substantially as described, to actuate it, combined with means, substantially as described, to clamp and hold the needle to be drilled, and a gage for the end of the needle, substantially as described. 7

4. In an organized machine for providing knitting-machineneedles with latches, the following instrumentalities, viz: a clamp to clamp the sides of the needle to be drilled with its slot exposed, a gage to determine the position of the needle in the clamp, a gage to determine the position of the latch in the slot between the side walls of the clamped needle, and a drill-spindle and drill to drill the side walls .of the needle and during such operation pass through a hole previously made in the latch, substantially as described.

5. In an organized machine for providing knitting-machine needles with latches, the following instrumentalities, viz: a clamp to clamp the sides of the needle to be drilled with its slot exposed, a gage to determine the,

position of the needle in the clamp, a gage to determine the position of the latch in the slot between the side walls of the clamped needle, and a drill-spindle and drill to drill the side walls of the needle and during such operation pass through a hole previously made in the latch, and movable jaws to grasp and insert the rivet-wire into the drilled hole in the needle to secure the latch, substantially as described.

6. In an organized machine for providing knitting-machine needles with latches, the following instrumentalities, viz: a clamp to clamp the sides of the needle to be drilled with its slot exposed, a gage to determine the position of the needle in the clamp, a gage to determine the position of the latch in the slot between the side walls of the clamped needle,

and a drill-spindle and drill to drill the side walls of the needle and during such operation pass through a hole previously made in the latch, and movable jaws to grasp and insert the rivet-wire into the drilled hole in the needle to secure the latch, and-cutting devices to cut the rivet-wire, substantially as' described.

7. The carriage, the pivoted clamp O and jaw b thereon, and the needle-ejector, combined with means to move the said clamp upon its pivots in a direction to release the needle and enable the ejector to push the same from the said clamp, substantially as described.

8. The carriage and the pivoted clamp the said rivetwire, substantially as described.

11. The carriage, means, substantially as described, to clamp the needle to be drilled, and the drill-spindle and drill, and means, substantially as described, including a cam to actuate the same longitudinally,combined with the pivoted block in which the said drill-spindle is mounted, substantially as described.

12. The carriage, the means to clamp the needle to be drilled, and the spring-controlled drill-spindle and drill, and means to actuate the same longitudinally against said springaction, combined with the pivoted block in which the said drill-spindle is mounted, and with means, as described, to lock the said block in place, substantially as described.

13. The carriage, means therein to clamp a needle, and mechanism therein, substantially as described, to drill the rivet-receiving hole in the needle, combined with means, substantially as described, to move the carriage, and with jaws and means, substantially as described, to operate them to insert the end of a wire for a rivet into the hole drilled in the needle, substantially as described.

14. Clamping means to hold a needle with a latch therein, combined with jaws to grasp a rivet-wire and insert the end thereof into a hole previously drilled into the needle and through a hole in the latch of the needle, substantially as described.

15. The jaws to grasp and inserta wire into a hole previously drilled in a needle, and means to clamp and hold the said needle, combined with a cutter to sever the said wire after inserting the same into the needle to thereby form a rivet, substantially as described.

16. The jaws m n andmeans, substantially stantially as described.

17. The sliding jaiv member a and the jaw 'Inember m, pivoted thereon at 6, combined with the cutter-carrier 0, also pivoted at 6, and with a cam having projections to actuate the said parts to feed a wire and out the same off, substantially as described.

18. The uprights B B and the carriage thereon having aprojection provided with a block B combined with a drill-spindle, a drill, clamping mechanism for the needle to be drilled, and a cam to move the said carriage, substantially as described.

19. The uprights B B and the carriage thereon having a projection provided with a block B combined with a drill-spindle, a drill, clamping mechanism for the needle to be drilled, and a cam to move the said carriage, and with the shaft A, the loose pulley having ratchet-teeth and a projection A, and a latch A to engage the said projection and draw the hub 011 the said shaft to stop the machine at the completion of one rotation of thesaid shaft, substantially as described.

20. The carriage, the bed-block a therein pivoted at one end, and an adjusting device to elevate one end of the said bed-block, combined with a clamp and jaw thereon to clamp a needle to be drilled, the movement of the adjusting device enabling the machine to be adjusted to the depth of the needle to be drilled, substantially as described.

21. In a machine for providing needles with latches, the following insirumentalities, viz: a drill-carrying spindle, a drill. means to actuate the said drill, means to clamp and hold theneedle to be drilled, a gage to position the said needle, and with feeding and clamping jaws to insert the end of a Wire into the hole previously drilled, and cutting mechanism to sever the said Wire and thus form a pivot for the latch of the needle, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing.Witnesses.

JOHN J. JENKINS. \Vitnesses:

C. J. DARRAH, DAVID F. CLARK. 

